Ryan Wall and Thomas Deck Claim Memorable Member-Guest Victory

This year’s Men’s Member-Guest Tournament was a story of redemption.

After months away from the game through injury, self-confessed struggles to find a once-formidable swing, and a missed opportunity on the previous hole, Ryan Wall sank a slippery 7-foot birdie putt to seal a popular win at the club’s summer spectacle.

Moments before, playing partner Thomas Deck had clipped one more sumptuous iron just left of the pin, and when Mario Mason ran a birdie putt past the hole, the stage was set for Wall to announce his return. “If I’d had the putt, I would have missed it – I had it going right pretty hard,” admitted Deck. But Wall had seen that very putt in an earlier match and made no mistake, securing victory before a slew of eager onlookers parked in carts around the green on the famous par 3 third hole.

It was the dramatic finish befitting a wonderful weekend of golf.

Saturday
It all began Saturday morning when competitors arrived to an unexpected torrent of rain, saturating the golf course and hampering preparation for the 9am shotgun start. Doing nothing to assuage early tournament jitters, some had to forgo a marshy driving range warmup, opting instead for strictly mental preparation.

The format remained unchanged from previous years – four flights of six teams squaring off in five matches over two days, three on Saturday, two on Sunday, and winners of each flight competing in a one-hole shootout to determine this year’s tournament champions.

Flight by Flight
In the championship flight, Jeremy Yoder and Rod Overholt started strongly with a 7 ½ to 2 ½ win over John Bennett and Randy Morgan. Mario Mason and Nathan Kain also started with a win, while Jordan Mulrain fought valiantly to earn a share of the spoils for his team against Dennis Albert and Andrew Tate. Not to be deterred, Bennet and Tate regrouped to score 6 ½ points in each of their next two matches, nestling nicely just a point behind leaders Mason and Kain at the end of day 1. Yoder and Overholt also lurked, still very much in contention.

Ryan Wall and Thomas Deck started in a sprint, taking 8 points from their match with Grant Burns and Rob Bailey, while Travis Aldred and Lee Bradley made their intentions clear with a strong performance against Russ Rabenstein and Steven Wright. Ethan Waldman and Marc Terdik, seasoned participants, found themselves stuck in neutral with three straight ties, and at the end of the day it seemed a two-horse race, with the front-runners scheduled to play in a tantalizing matchup first thing Sunday morning.

The third flight welcomed fan favorite father-son pairing Steve and Dustin Fry back to TCC, where they would face off against the Brothers Beaver (Keith and Doug). Ed Weatherby, match play finalist and perhaps TCC’s hottest golfer, welcomed Bruce Cole into the fold in one of the most competitive groups of the tournament. By day 1, only four points separated the top four teams, with Weatherby and Cole nursing a slender lead over the Beaver duo.

In the final flight, defending champions Dale Musselwhite and Kevin Levine had their work cut out against Mike Axelrod and Dan Shatz. Despite starting with a loss, they roared back to trail the leaders by just two points at the end of day 1, with Jerry and Matt Popisil still in the hunt.

In the background at the clubhouse, Brian Harmon was running away with the British Open – but there would be no such luxury for the leaders of these flights.

At the end of day 1, the competition was delicately poised.

The Guests
I would be remiss not to mention the impressive caliber of golf being played by this year’s field, with some standout guests taking to the course. Jordan Mulrain perhaps put it best when he said, “To be honest, it’s a real treat just to watch these guys hit a golf ball.”

Playing with Randy Morgan, John Bennett boasted a baseball swing on steroids, turning it both ways off the tee, and showing off impeccable distance control with his wedges – not a bad combo, and no surprise he’s fresh off a T-6 at a local mini-tour event.

Rod Overholt, teaming up with Jeremy Yoder, owns a smooth swing so meticulous it’s hard to imagine him ever being out of position on a golf course. His driving 3-wood was the talk of the tournament, a club that seemed custom made for this golf course, where driver is rarely essential on the risk/reward Donald Ross layout.

And finally, Nate Kain, guest of Mario Mason, played some stunning golf over the course of the weekend, playing like he’d been at TCC for years. As an example, his approach to the par 4 13th hole on Sunday almost flew straight in – it landed inches beyond the pin before putting it in reverse, spinning back, grazing the edge, and coming to rest two feet beneath the hole. Another birdie in a beautiful ball-striking display.

Honorable mention: Former long-drive contestant James Nelson hit the golf ball with a noise most jets breaking the sound barrier would be proud of.

Sunday
There was even time for politics this year, as Sunday began with a dramatic fashion statement. Despite his convivial, easygoing personality, John Sankey reminded everyone of his ability to render biting social commentary. He eschewed a collar in favor of an iconic “pizza planet” t-shirt (picture below), a clear commentary on the oppressive nature of golf’s dress codes and his refusal to participate, not just for himself but for those globally who feel the same. The decision not to wear a belt was just rebellious icing on the cake. Well played, John.

On the course, Mason and Kain kept it in cruise control, fighting off Yoder and Overholt to claim the first spot in the playoff, while Axelrod and Schatz continued to make short work of their opponents, tallying an impressive 35 ½ points in the group phase to advance. Despite losing their final match to Keith and Doug Beaver, Weatherby and Cole hung on for dear life to win the third flight, adding to Weatherby’s impressive 2023 resume.

Things were a little less straight forward in the second flight, however. Sunday morning pitted group leaders Wall and Deck against closest adversaries Aldred and Bradley. In a stunning turn of events, Aldred and Bradley pounded the group leaders by 5 points, leapfrogging them in the standings and wrestling back control of their own destiny with just 9 holes to play.

Further drama ensued, however – in the final match of the tournament, the new leaders slumped to defeat against a resurgent Sankey/Reyhan pairing as Wall and Deck thumped Waldman and Terdik, who were perhaps showing signs of fatigue after Saturday festivities that continued well into the night. Wall and Deck reclaimed their place atop the leaderboard and punched the final ticket to the member-guest shootout.

Prize Winners
There were some fantastic prizes up for grabs over the course of the weekend, with top-of-the-line wedges, golf bags, and a brand new TSR hybrid on hand for winners of the closest to the pin challenges and the putting contest.

Ozzie Shuler bested the competition in the putting contest, booking a place in the final on Saturday and sealing the win first thing Sunday morning.

On the 3rd hole, Phillip Little stuck it 10 feet from the pin to win the first CTP challenge, then Randy Morgan guided a beautiful baby draw just 7 feet from the hole on the 8th. On Sunday, Matt Popisil almost made an ace, before his ball came to rest just 3 feet away on the 12th.

The final CTP hole of the tournament, however, was something special. 67-year old Steve Fry, playing from the Blue-Yellow tees with son Dustin, pulled 5-wood on the 17th hole, some 217 yards away. With perhaps the swing of the tournament, Fry pured it, sending it into the sky as his group watch on all aghast. “Is it close?” Fry asked. “I think it is,” one group member responded, “I think it’s very close.” It most certainly was. 2 feet 4 inches to be exact, the closest of any competitor on any of the CTP challenge holes.

The Shootout
This year’s shootout began on the first hole. Kain made a gutsy birdie putt to fend off pars (net birdie) from Weatherby/Cole and Wall/Deck. After trouble off the tee and in the bunker, Axelrod and Schatz were eliminated, but held their heads high after an excellent weekend performance.

The second hole was about missed opportunities. Kain must have thought he’d done it again from 15 feet, but his birdie effort snapped right at the end and cruelly lipped out. When Weatherby and Wall both missed from close range, it was on to the third playoff hole.

And so the stage was set for Ryan Wall and Thomas Deck. Deck, who had played some of the best golf of anyone over the course of the weekend, delivered once more with a strike to 7-feet. As Wall sank the winning putt, the message in the celebratory bellow, clenched fists, and arms raised aloft was clear: he’s back.